The installation's missions include being the command headquarters for the
Fifth U.S. Army (which became U.S. Army
North as of October 2006), United States Army South, the Army Medical Command (MEDCOM)
headquarters, the AMEDD Center and School, the Fifth Recruiting
Brigade, 12th ROTC Brigade, U.S. Navy Regional Recruiting, the San Antonio
Military Entrance and Processing Station, and the U.S. Naval School of Health
Sciences, Bethesda Detachment.

Contents

Military medicine

Fort Sam Houston is known as the "Home of Army Medicine" and "Home of the
Combat Medic". At the end of the Second World War, the Army decided to make
Fort Sam Houston the principal medical training facility. [3] In conjunction with this decision, came
the determination to develop Brooke General Hospital into one of the Army's
premier medical centers.[3] As of
2007, Fort Sam Houston is the largest and most important military medical
training facility in the world. [2][3][4]

Known as the brain trust for the Army Medical Department
(AMEDD), the Army Medical Department Center and School annually trains more
than 25,000 students attending 170 officer, NCO and enlisted courses in 14
medical specialties. The command maintains several academic affiliations for
bachelor and masters degree programs with major universities such as Baylor University, University of Texas Health Science Centers at
Houston and San Antonio, and University of Nebraska.

Also located at Fort Sam Houston are Brooke Army Medical Center, the Great Plains
Regional Medical Command, Headquarters Dental Command, Headquarters Veterinary
Command, the Institute for Surgical Research (trauma/burn center), the Defense
Medical Readiness Training Institute, and the Army Medical Department NCO
Academy.

Historic buildings

Construction at Fort Sam Houston began in the middle 1870s under the
supervision of the military commander of the Department of Texas, Maj.
Gen.Edward Ord, a West Point-trained army engineer. Today, as one of the Army's
oldest installations, and with more than 900 buildings in its historic
districts, Fort Sam Houston boasts one of the largest collection of historic
military post structures. The significant contributions of Fort Sam Houston to
the United States were recognized in 1975 when the post was designated as a
National Historic Landmark.

The Fort Sam Houston Quadrangle is the oldest structure at Fort Sam Houston.
It was originally a supply depot, and during that time, it also housed Geronimo
and those Apaches captured with him while the Federal government decided
whether they were prisoners of war or common criminals. Legend has it that the
deer in the Quadrangle were there because Geronimo refused to eat food he did
not hunt. In truth, the deer pre-date Geronimo in the Quadrangle, he ate the
same rations as the soldiers, and no one really knows why the deer are there.
The Quadrangle is now an office complex housing the commanding general and
staff of U.S. Army North.

Even more consequential than the number of buildings is the historical
integrity of the post's different sections, which represent different eras of
construction, and reflect Army concepts in planning and design. Careful
preservation of these areas allows the post to live with its history,
surrounded by the traditions established when the first soldier arrived here in
1845.

Community connections

Throughout its existence, a close and harmonious relationship has prevailed
between Fort Sam Houston and the City of San Antonio. The two have grown and
matured together. The city often has been called the "mother-in-law of the
Army" because so many soldiers including Dwight D. Eisenhower, met their future
spouses here.

More than 27,000 military and civilian personnel work at the post, with an
annual payroll and operating budget of $1.9 billion. Local purchases made by
installation activities total almost $105 million annually. Funding for
construction projects on post average $30 million annually. Fort Sam Houston
has also initiated public–private partnerships to renovate and adaptively reuse
significant historic buildings.

In June 2006, the San Antonio Express-News reported that Fort Sam
Houston received utility disconnection notices due to budget
constraints.[5]